Tiffany & Co. at Phoenix Center — Tiffany Metamorphosis High Jewellery Gal (2016)

Beijing Phoenix Center hosted Tiffany & Co.'s "Metamorphosis" high jewellery gala dinner, a single evening presenting nearly 200 pieces.

The venue

Phoenix Center in Chaoyang, Beijing, is the headquarters of Phoenix Media, designed by MAD Architects as a looped, torus-like volume wrapped in a patterned glass facade. Inside, a tall atrium with ramps, bridges and a glazed roof runs through the building, giving it the scale of a public hall rather than a hotel ballroom. It is used for offices, exhibitions and corporate events.

How the space was used

Guests moved through the atrium in a staged sequence that ran from a seabed zone upward toward a sea-surface zone, built to match the "Metamorphosis" theme. Jewellery — nearly 200 high jewellery pieces plus archival Tiffany pieces — was shown in and around this set. APAX added planters cut like gemstones, and a live music performance closed the evening.

Why it works here

High jewellery houses need a room that reads as architecture rather than retail. Phoenix Center's atrium supplies height, daylight and a circulation route long enough to stage a narrative from one end to the other, and its identity as a media building keeps the evening away from the standard hotel circuit.